Connecter member



June 14 1927.

' 1,632,112 C. BRAM MING CONNECTER MEMBER Filed Aug. 12, 1925 Patented June 14, 1927.

UNITED srATas CARL BBAMMING, OF CHICAGO, IIIIIINOIS, ASSIGIJOR 'IO ACCESSORIES MANUFACTUB- PATENT OFFICE.

ING COMPANY, A CORPORATION 01 ILLINOIS.

CONNECTEB MEMBER.

Application filed August 12, 1925. Serial No. 49,798.

This invention relates to electrical devices and more particularly to terminal connectors for electric circuits.

One of the objects of the invention'is the provision of a connecter member that is pro vided with new and improved means for attaching the same to a flexible conductor without the aid of screws, solder or the like.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a terminal connecter that is provided with new and improved means for attaching the end of a conductor wire to the terminal plug or contact member in such a manner that the end of the wire is frictionally held in intimate contact with the terminal plug and in which the wire may be readily attached to said plug or detached therefrom.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved connecter member that is cheap to manufacture, easily assembled or disassembled, eflicient in use, that may be attached to the end of a con-- ductor wire in a minimum amount of time without the use of tools, screws, bolts or solder, and that is not likely to become broken or get out of order.

Other and furthenobjects and advantages of the invention will appear .from the fol lowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which" I Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an electric lamp showing'the connecting sleeve in vertical section, with the invention in position therein;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of minal and insulating plugs;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view minal plug;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of terminal and insulating plugs, showing a modified form of insulating plug; and a Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 4.

For simplicity of illustration and conventhe terof the terience in description the connecter member is shown as being associated with the end of a conductor and with an electric light bulb of the usual or any approved construction. On the drawing, reference being hadto Figs. 1 and 2, the reference character 8 designates the improved connecter member which comprises an insulating plug or member 9 and a terminal plug 10 w ich is adapted to beattached to one end of the conductor wire 11. The insulating plug 9 is provided with oppositely disposed studs or lugs 12 which are adapted to engage in bayonet slots 13 in one end .of a metallic sleeve 14, as isusual in such constructions." 1

An electric light bu1b 15 having its base 16 provided with studs "17Yfor engaging in bayonet slots 18 in the outer end of the sleeve 14 in the usual manner, is also employed. 1 v

The insulating plug is provided with a bore 21 having the diameter of its inner end reduced as at 20 to form the shoulder 22. The terminal plug 10 is adapted to be in serted in the bore 21 with its inner end in engagement with the shoulder 22.

The outer end of the terminal plug 10 is provided with a slidable contact member 24 which is pressed outwardly by spring 25 and is adapted to engage the contact member 23 at the baseof the bulb for making electrical contact and for holding the parts assembled in the sleeve 14 as is usual in such constructions.

Theinner end of the terminal plug lO is provided with oppositely arranged grooves 26 and with means for interlocking with the end. of the conductor wire 11. This interlocking connection is of such a nature that the terminal plug after it has been interlocked with the end of the wire may be slidably inserted in the end of the insulating plug 9, Preferably a notch or opening 28 extending transversely through the inner bores of the insulating plug, but in these de-- vices the terminal wire has been looped through openings or notches in the inner end of the terminal plug instead of being provided with an offset, consequentl more or less di-lficulty in inserting the plug is encountered, it not being) feasible to pull the terminal plug into the ore of the insulating member by means of the conductor wire. It has also been proposed to provide the terminal wire with an oflset, but in those cases screw-threaded members or other securing and clamping devices are employed to en- V gage the end of the conductor'wire. This arrangement is also olqectionable because of the extra parts necessary, and of the addi tional time required for assembling thc. dc-.

as other parts of the wire.

In connecting the end of a conductor wire 11 to the insulating plug 9 the insulation 27 is stripped from the wire for a suitable distance, the bare wire is then placed in the opening 28 and the end and body portions of the wire given a'sharp bend to form'the connecting portion, or shoulder 30 and the offset end 34. The offset end 34 extends forwardly and lies in the groove 26 on one side of the plug and the body ofthe conductor 11 lies in the of the plug.

Preferably the insulation is left on the wire to a point adjacent to the end of the terminal plug, whereby the bare portion of the wire will lie within the, grooves and will not be exposed at the inner end of the insulating plug.

In assembling the parts the conductor wire is threaded through the reduced end of the bore'21, the terminal plug lOattached as described above, and by pullihg on the wire 11 after positioning the end of the plug 10 in the outer end of the bore 21 the same may be pulled to position in the insulating 'memher. The depth of the grooves 26 is such that when the plug 10 is pulled home the walls of the bore will force the conductor wire into intimate frictional contact with the plug thereby insuring a good electrical connection between said wire and plug. This is considered an important feature of the invention. The terminal plug 10 may be of any suitable form. In the form of the device selected to illustrate one embodiment of the invention, the terminal plugs are formed from a tubular member the outer end of which may be spun over to form a flange 29 I for engaging a retaining flange 31 on the inner end of the contact member 24 for retaining the same in said tubular member.

ihe grooves 26 are formed in the wall of e tube by depressing said wall. The upper ends of the depressionsform shoulders 33 against which the spring 25 abuts. By forming theseplu-gs from tubular stock the cost of manufacture isnot only greatly lessened, but the resiliency of the walls of the tube'will permitthe same to yield slightly beneath the wire when the plug 10 is inserted, thereby facilitating the insertion of and at the same time insuring an exceedmgly good electrical connection begroove 26 on the opposite side ing said wire between the tween the said plug and the conductor. The

short bend in the wire where it passes through the opening28 and the frictional resistance between the offset end and the walls of the insulating and terminal plugs will prevent the wire from becoming disengaged from the terminal plug regardlessof the amount of force applied to the wire. This is also considered an important feature because it insures a good mechanical connection between the wire and the plug.

The form of the terminal plug shown in F igs.4 and 5 differs from that just described in that a springpressed contact member is not employed. In this form of the device the inner endof the terminal plug 37 is provided with a head 88 extending beyond the tubular walls of the plug to form shoulders 39 for limiting the inward movement of said plug in the bore 41 of the insulating plug 42. This head constitutes the contact member for the terminal plug. The walls of the terminal plug 37 are depressed as at 43 to form channels or grooves for the reception of the conductor wire 11, and the parts assembled in the same manner, as previously described.

It is thought from the foregoing taken in connection with the accompanying drawings that the construction and operation of my device,will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that various changes in size,

shape, proportion and details of construc-' tion may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appendea claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, an insulating plug'provided, with a bore extending longitudinally thereof, a terminal plug slidably mounted in said bore, said plug comprising a body portion provided with grooves extending longitudinally thereof and having a transverse opening connectingthe grooves, and a conductor wire threaded through said openin and frictionally engaging said grooves an the inner walls of said bore.

2. A terminal plug comprising a conductor member having a resilient portion provided'wit-h grooves at opposite sides thereof and having a transverse opening for the reception of a conductor wire.

3. A terminal plug comprising a conductor provided with a resilient portion havmg a transverse opening through one end an offset, and means on said plug for engagbody thereof and saidofi'set for clamping the same against said plug for connecting said wire to said terminal.

5. A-terminal plug comprising a tubular member having a spring-pressed contact element on its outer end, the inner portion of said tubular member being provided with oppositely arranged grooves and with an opening extending from groove to groove through said member.

6. In combination, an insulating plug having a, bore extending longitudinally thereof, a terminal conductor plug slidably mounted in said bore, said plug having an opening extending transversely therethrough, and a conductor wire extending through said opening infrictional engagement with the walls of said plugs.

7. In combination, an insulating plug having a bore extending 'lon itudinally thereof, a terminal conductor s idably engaging in said bore, said conductor comprising a tubular member, a transverse opening therethrough and having its walls depressed to form grooves extending longitudinally thereof, one of said grooves extending inwardly from .one end of said opening and the other extending outwardlyfrom the other end of said opening, and a conductor wire having its bodyportion engaging in one of said grooves and bent to extend through said opening, and along the other groove.

'8. In combination, a terminal member comprising a metallic element having a transverseopenin through one end thereof, and provided wit a resilient portion having a groove extending longitudinally thereof, and an electrical conductor wire having a portion extending through said open and another portion extending along sai groove. 7

9. In combination an insulating plug having a bore extending longitudinally thereof, a terminal plug slidably engaging in said bore, said terminal plug comprising a resilient portion having an opening extending transversely thereof and having grooves extending in opposite directions from the ends of said opening, and a conductor wire having a portion extending through said opening and other portions lying in said grooves, the resiliency of said resilient portion of the terminal plug clamping' the wire conductor against the inner wall of said insulating lug.

In testimony whereoi I aflix my signature.

CARL BRAMMING. 

